I Had Four Brothers (Perrie, Merrie, Dixi, Domine) Printable Lyrics – PDF

“I Had Four Brothers (Perrie, Merrie, Dixi, Domine)” or “Had Four Brothers”, “Perrie, Merrie, Dixi, Domine”, “The Four Presents” is an old nursery rhyme dating perhaps back to the 15th century. The origins of the song’s distinctive chorus “Petrum, Partrum, Paradisi, Tempore, Perrie, Merrie, Dixie, Domine” may be garbled snatches of a bible verse, a Latin hymn or from a mass. A version from 1838 renders the line phonetically as “para mee dicksa do mee nee”.

Children have always had a natural tendency to accumulate in their own unique and playful way the things that they hear from the adults. For some this song could be a Christmas tradition as well, since it is about presents.

On this page you can find two versions of the Lyrics, a Printable Lyrics PDF file for free Download and two Sing-along videos of the song.

Contents

Printable Lyrics PDF

Click on the button to download a PDF file with lyrics to this song for free.

Lyrics (version 1)

1. I had four brothers over the sea,
Perrie, Merrie, Dixie, Domine
And each one sent a gift to me,
Petrum, Partrum, Paradisi, Tempore,
Perrie, Merrie, Dixie, Domine.

2. The first one sent a goose without a bone,
Perrie, Merrie, Dixie, Domine.
The second sent a cherry without a stone,
Petrum, Partrum, Paradisi, Tempore,
Perrie, Merrie, Dixie, Domine.

3. The third sent a blanket without a thread,
Perrie, Merrie, Dixie, Domine.
The fourth sent a book no man could read,
Petrum, Partrum, Paradisi, Tempore,
Perrie, Merrie, Dixie, Domine.

4. When cherry’s in blossom there is no stone,
Perrie, Merrie, Dixie, Domine.
When the goose is in the egg there is no bone,
Petrum, Partrum, Paradisi, Tempore,
Perrie, Merrie, Dixie, Domine.

5. When the wool’s on the back there is no thread,
Perrie, Merrie, Dixie, Domine.
When the book’s in the press no man can read,
Petrum, Partrum, Paradisi, Tempore,
Perrie, Merrie, Dixie, Domine.

Lyrics (version 2)

I had four brothers over the sea,
Perrie, Merrie, Dixie, Dominie.
And they each sent a present unto me,
Petrum, Partrum, Paradise, Temporie,
Perrie, Merrie, Dixie, Dominie.

The first sent a chicken, without any bones;
The second sent a cherry, without any stones.
Petrum, &c.

The third sent a book, which no man could read;
The fourth sent a blanket, without any thread.
Petrum, &c.

How could there be a chicken without any bones?
How could there be a cherry without any stones?
Petrum, &c.

How could there be a book which no man could read?
How could there be a blanket without a thread?
Petrum, &c.

When the chicken’s in the egg-shell, there are no bones;
When the cherry’s in the blossom, there are no stones.
Petrum, &c.

When the book’s in ye press no man it can read;
When the wool is on the sheep’s back, there is no thread.
Petrum, &c.

source: The Project Gutenberg EBook of National Rhymes of the Nursery